Liquid and gaseous fuel burner



H. WlANT LIQUID AND GASEOUS FUEL BURNER Feb. 27, 1951 v Filed July 10,194

INVENTOR HUGH W/ANT ATTORNEY 2 1 6 M M l: a a a 2L Patented Feb. 27,1951 LIQUID AND GASEOUS FUEL BURNER Hugh Wiant; Westfield, N. J assignorto mbustion Research and Development, Inc., Jersey City, N. J acorporation of New Jersey Application July 10, 1946, Serial No. 682,576

This invention relates to fuel burners for furnaces and, moreparticularly, to such burners adapted to burn either a liquid or agaseous fuel or a combination of both such fuels.

In order to obtain efiicient combustion in a furnace using oil as fuel,it is essential that the oil be broken up into the smallest particlespossible or as nearly as possible atomized. Normally, this breakin up orattempted atomization of the fuel oil in the above type of burners isaccomplished by forcing the fuel oil through relatively small ducts intostreams or jets of air, gas or steam to form a primary mixture, and thismixture is then directed or projected into the fur-- nace where is itfurther mixed with the proper amount of air to provide the necessaryoxygen for combustion.

The Patent 2,276,131 to N. E. Wiant, issued March 10, 1942, discloses aburner of the above type, and the present invention in generalconstitutes an improvement in the said burner.

Accordingly, it is one of the primary objects of the present inventionto provide a burner of the type disclosed in the said Wiant patent ofincreased efficiency, of improved construction, and which is moreconveniently serviced and manufactured. The increased efficiency of theburner of the present invention is accomplished in part by the provisionof means and arrangements of parts whereby the oil used is more finelyor comend of a hollow sleeve or tube with the stem of a bevel headedvalve extending through both the tip and barrel. Oil admitted to theforward end of the burner through the valve stem is mixed with steam orgas in the burner tip and the mixture projected from under the valvehead into the furnace. In connection with the above, another object ofthe invention is to provide a burner of the above general type, whereinthe fuel oil is projected into the atomizing stream of gas or steamthrough nozzles or jets completely surrounded by the atomizing stream atthe discharge points of the jets rather than through openings into theatomizing stream ports as is the case in the above-mentioned patent.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of meanswhereby the oil is admitted to the valve stem at a point remote from theend and in such a manner that no exterior oil supply connection theretois required and which permits complete rotation of the valve stemrelative 1 Claim. (01.299-141) to the burner and longitudinal movementthereof for cleaning purposes. In connection with the above, a morespecific object of the invention resides in an arrangement for admittingoil to the valve stem through a lantern ring whereby the said ringserves as a strainer to strain foreign particles from the oil andprevent the same from reaching the burner tip.

A further object of the invention is to provide a burner of the typedescribed wherein the head of the valve is yieldably held in contactwith the forward end of the burner tip whereby the valve may be readilymoved longitudinally. In this connection the same yieldable means serveto compress a packing ring providing the oil-tight seal at the oilentrance to the valve stem and wherein the packing is self-tighteningunder influence of the yieldable means.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision 01' aburner tip constructed of two pieces and arranged in such a manner thatthere is no necessity of plugging up of certain holes in the outer shellthereof formed. incident with the forming of holes for permitting theflow of oil into the atomizing steam.

.In accordance with the modification of the invention, another object isto provide a tip for use in a burner of the above type wherein two ofthe atomizing streams are connected with an oil discharge outlet by theforming of a single hole in the burner tip.

The above and further objects and features of the invention will be moreapparent in the following description thereof wherein reference is madeto the accompanying drawings, showing a preferred form of the inventionand one modification of a part thereof. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a burner constructed inaccordance with and embodying the features of the preferred form of theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the burner of Fig. 1 taken substantiallyon line 22 thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken through a part of the burnertip substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modified burner tip; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the burner tip of Fig. 4 takensubstantially on line 55 thereof.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the preferred form of the invention is shownas including a main sleeve or barrel portion Hi which has communicatingthereto a pipe II. for supplying gasair or steam to the burner foreffecting the breaking up or atomizing of the oil in the mannerhereinafter described. The sleeve I is of sufficient length to extendthrough the wall of the furnace in which the burner is installed withthe pipe I positioned exteriorly of the furnace and with the tipindicated generally by reference numeral I2 at the forward or lower endof the barrel, as shown in Fig. 1, properly located within the furnace.The end of the barrel I6 is externally screw-threaded at I3 while theupper end of the burner tip I2 is internally screw-threaded whereby thetwo parts are assembled together. A collar I4 is fixed to the outside ofthe barrel I2, as by welding, above the threads I3, and a suitablepacking ring I6 between the lower face of the collar and the upper endof the tip |2 provides a suitable air and liquid-type connection betweenthe two elements.

The burner tip I2 has adjacent the center section thereof other internalscrew threads ll of somewhat smaller diameter than the threads at theupper end thereof, adapted to engage corresponding external screwthreads adjacent the center of a so-called distributing head or spacingbushing, indicated generally by reference numeral l8. A shoulder I9inside the burner tip |2 at the upper end of the screw threads I!engages a cooperating shoulder 2| on the distributing head I8 toposition the distributing head within the burner tip.

The distributing head spacing bushing I8 has, as best shown in Figs. 2and 3, a plurality of longitudinally extending ports 22 therein. Theports 22 are not of uniform diameter throughout their length but, asshown in Figs. 1 and 3, are larger at the lower ends than at the'upperends. The distributing head I8 also has a centrally located bore inwhich is positioned the stem portion 23 of the valve indicated generallyby reference numeral 24. The forward end of the valve 24 is tulip-shapedto form a valve head 26 of substantially the same diameter as that ofthe burner tip I2. The valve 24 is urged in an upward direction, asshown in Fig. l by means hereinafter described, so that the undersurface of the valve head presses against the end of the burner tip. Theunderside of the valve head is lightly bevelled and the lower end of theburner tip is correspondingly bevelled to form a seat for the undersideof the valve head 26. The said bevelled surface of the burner tip hasarranged therein a plurality of grooves, such as 21, Fig. 2, throughwhich the mixture of steam and oil are projected into the furnace. Thesegrooves 2! are preferably tangential to the circle on which the ports 22are formed, and the mixture of steam and oil leaving the burner tipthrough these grooves is, therefore, given a whirling motion.

At the upper or rear end of the main sleeve I6 is a valv guide elementor spacing bushing 28 which extends a slight distance into the barrel i6and is welded thereto as at 29. The guide member 28 has a central boretherein which at its forward end is substantially equal to or slightlylarger than the stem 23 of the valve 24 to permit sliding movement ofthe stem therethrough. The remainder of this central bore is of largediameter to accommodate packing glands 3| on either side of a lanternring 32.

The lantern ring 32 is substantially cylindrical in shape with a centerbore adapted to receive the valve stem 23 and has both an inner and anouter annular groove 35 and 33, respectively, formed therein. An oilsupply pipe 34 is connected to the side of the valve guide member 28opposite the lantern ring 32, and oil supplied through the pipe 34enters the space formed by the outer annular groove 33 of the lanternring and the adjacent inside section of the valve member. A plurality ofradial holes 36 through the wall of the lantern ring permits oildelivered to the space formed by the outer annular groove 33 to enterthe inner annular groove 35, and these holes 36 are such a size andnumber as to form a strainer to strain foreign particles from the oiland prevent the same from entering the inner groove.

The section of the valve stem 23 between the lantern ring 32 and thedistributing head I8 is hollow, and a plurality of holes, such as 31,through the wall of the valve stem at the lantern ring permits the oilto pass from the inner annular groove 35 to the valve stem. At theforward hollow section of the valve stem 23 are a corresponding set ofholes or apertures 38 which permit oil from the valve stem to bedischarged through the walls thereof into an annular groove 39 formedinside the distributing head and around the valve stem.

Threaded radially into the wall of the distributing head between theannular groove 39 and each one of the ports 22 is a hollow oil jet 4|.The inner ends of the oil jets 4| preferably terminate just short of orsubstantially flush with the outer diameter of the annular groove 39 andthe head ends of the jets 4| protrude substantially to the center of thesection of larger .diameter of associated ports 22. The jets 4| may beprovided with slots, such as 46, to facilitate the installation thereof,and when installed the slots 46 in the jets are preferably parallelwiththe axis of the burner. As oil under pressure from the supply pipe34 is admitted through lantern ring 32 into the hollow section of thevalve stem, it flows toward the valve head and out through the holes 38into the annular groove 39 of the distributing head I8. From the annulargroove 39 the oil still under pressure flows radially outward throughthe hollow jets 4| and into the stream of gas or steam passing throughthe ports 22. Here the oil will be picked up by the stream of passinggas of steam and mixed therewith to form a primary mixture, and sincethe discharge or head ends of the jets 4| protrude a substantialdistance intothe ports 22,preferably the center thereof, there will belittle or no tendency of the oil to flow along the wall of the ports.Accordingly, the discharge of the oil from the jets into the center ofthe stream of gas or steam flowing through the ports 22 more completelybreaks up the oil and divides the same into the finest particles.

A packin gland follower 43 contacts the upper packing gland 3| tocompress the packing glands and seal the valve stem at the lantern ring32 in the area of the oil delivery pipe 34. The follower 43 is urgeddownwardly by a compression spring 44 working against a flange 46 on thefollower. A cap 56 in threaded engagement with the upper end of thevalve guide member 28 holds the follower in place and serves as a meansfor initially compressing the packing glands 3| while the spring 44serves to maintain the packing glands compressed.

The upper end of the valve stem 23 is threaded and in threadedengagement therewith is a mem ber 41. The member 41 has external threadsthroughout the greater part of its length adapted to receive a springtension adjustment collar 48. By threadin the collar 48 alon the member47, the spring 44 may be compressed varying amounts. A set screw 49 inthe collar serves to hold the same in an adjusted position and a handle5|, the ends of which extend axially from the member 41 wherein it ismounted, serves as a means for rotating the member 41 together with thevalve 24 secured thereto.

In addition to compressing the packing glands 3|, the spring 44 servesto urge the valve 24 in an upward direction to maintain the underside ofthe head against the end of the burner tip, and since there is no rigidoil connection to the valve stem, it may be rotated any amount desiredfor cleaning the grooves 2'! at the end of the burner tip. Furthermore,the valve may be longitudinally moved in a downward direction, as shownin Fig. 1, against the action of the spring 44 by the application ofpressure on the member 41 to facilitate the cleaning of the grooves 27in the burner tip [2.

While the upper end of the valve stem 23 is shown as being solid, inwhich case the valve stem would be fabricated from two pieces in orderto drill the hollow section thereof, the two pieces being securedtogether by suitable means as by welding, the valve stem could readilybe made from a single piece in which case the hollow section wouldextend to the end within the member 41.

In Figs. 4 and 5, a burner tip 52 is shown constructed of a singlepiece. This tip has internal threads 53 adapted to engage cooperatinthreads on the lower end of the sleeve l0 whereby it is secured thereto.In this modification of the burner tip, steam ports 54 of uniformdiameter permit the passage of steam from the sleeve to the head end ofthe burner. The ports 54 are not parallel with the axis of the burnerbut slope slightly, as shown in Fig. 4, toward the forward end. Acentral bore 56 is adapted to receive the stem of the valve and anannular groove 51 therein receives oil from the discharge openings ofthe valve stem.

In accordance with this modification of the burner tip and as best shownin Fig. 5, a hole 55 is drilled through the tip into each pair of steamports 54. Between each pair of steam ports an oil duct 58 is drilled toconnect the annular groove 51 with the hole connecting its pair ofassociated steam ports 54. The holes 55 from the outside of the tip arelater plug ed'up by means of plugs,

such as 59, which may be threaded into the tip, and with thisarrangement only one plug 59 with its associated oil duct 58 need bemade for each pair of steam ducts. Such an arrangement simplifies theconstruction of the burner tip and permits a greater number of steamports to be employed than where, as in the above-mentioned Wiant patent,each steam port has an associated oil duct formed through an opening inthe tip which must later be plugged.

While in the above description steam has generally been referred to asthe medium employed to effect the primary mixing or atomization of thefuel oil, it will be obvious that other mediums could be employed suchas gas or air.

It will also be obvious that various other modifications andarrangements of the invention other than those shown in the drawings anddescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit oressentialattributes thereof and it is desired, therefore, that only suchlimitations be placed thereon as are specifically defined in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

In a burner of the character described for atomizing a liquid fuel by agas and projecting the same into a furnace, a first hollow conductoradapted to be supplied with a gas under pressure, a second hollowconductor, a first spacing bushing and a second spacing bushing securedto said conductors, means including said bushings for slidably androtatably supporting said second conductor within said first conductor,a liquid fuel supply member fixedly positioned with respect to saidfirst conductor, means for establishing communication for liquid fuelfrom said liquid supply member to the inside of said second conductor,said means including holes through the walls of said second conductorand a grooved sleeve surrounding said second conductor at saidholes,said sleeve having recesses on the inner and outer surfaces thereof withconnecting holes and sealing glands at its ends engaging the innersurface of said first bushing and the outer surface of said conductor,means including said second conductor for conveying said liquid fuel toa liquid and gas mixing position within said first conductor, a seriesof longitudinally extending ports in said second bushing for effectingsaid mixing including dividing of through said second series of ports,said jets extending into the axial centers of said longitudinal portsand in a direction substantially normal to y the direction of flow ofsaid gas streams, and means for dividing said mixture into a pluralityof streams and projecting the same from said burner.

HUGH WIANT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,796,130 Szodomka Mar. 10, 19312,229,467 Maxwell Jan. 21, 1941 2,276,131 Wiant Mar. 10, 1942 2,375,884Arvins May 15, 1945

